Catching the Magic

Two Brits in Aotearoa bringing up three NZ born daughters. Our children: Our future. Haere Mai!

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Playing in the Wellington heat wave

January 29, 2015January 29, 2015 BritMumInNZ 2 Comments Photo Gallery, School hols, Seasons

It’s been scorching in Wellington this past week (and after acclimatising to warmer temperatures in our year and a bit living in southern California) hubby and I have been LOVING it! This was my view the other day (from the shelter of a beach tent – weighted down with driftwood) of my hubby and youngest […]

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Country Kids | Active snapshots from our week

April 18, 2014 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Lifestyle, Playgrounds & Parks

Sharing some active snapshots from the past week of my three active daughters… Swinging in the garden under a shady tree, with friendly lizards and birds for company – Climbing at the playground, with the agility of monkeys, the enthusiasm of bees chasing pollen, and the confidence of feeling comfortable in their own bodies – […]

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Things I’m Loving

February 8, 2013 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Life in action - Videos, Loving & Not Loving

As I sit down this Friday evening, and reflect on the week that has been, I acknowledge the tougher moments of family life that have been – but let them go now. This is time to capture the magic, the moments to hold on to, to keep us strong, to see us through. The moments […]

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Lyrical Sunday | Play

August 26, 2012August 26, 2012 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Alice, Lyrical Sunday

Inside the mind of my two year old… ‘Play with me! Play with me! – And with my magic wand, I’ll turn you into… a tree!’ ‘Help me save the baby lion cub – you can be in my animal rescue club!’ ‘Let’s dance, play tag, catch the ball – climb up there – careful […]

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10 things to do in the winter sun on the beach

August 6, 2012August 6, 2012 BritMumInNZ 1 Comment Alice, Charlotte, Dan, Learning & growing, Sarah, Sophie

Draw a giant snakes and ladders games in the sand and play with pebble markers. Make a dice substitute by drawing six rings in the sand (with number 6 in the smallest, centre ring, and number 1 in the largest, outside ring). Choose an object to throw at the rings to score (could be a […]

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Expressions on a Wednesday in a Tutu!

November 16, 2011 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Alice, Sophie

We’re half way through term four and on a roll to Christmas, with all the dance shows, carol singing and preparations. Sophie is really settling in to her new school and coming home every day with a smile and a pile of reading. She brings home wonderful books and often has the whole family acting […]

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Do I stop at the beach?

September 23, 2011 BritMumInNZ 5 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Sophie

I have no towels, no changes of clothes or togs for them to splash in. The air still has a chill, the water’s still cold. But I have the car and it’s a short drive home. The beach is deserted, except for another couple of mothers letting their children run free in and out of the gentle, […]

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Taking baby dolls for a walk…

August 13, 2011August 13, 2011 BritMumInNZ 5 Comments Alice, Life in action - Videos

Nearly 18 months old and Alice adores teddy bears and dolls. Bears, dolls and boxes are her favourite toys. With Charlotte it was a train fascination at this age – we collected trains and track, read ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ and took bags of trains out with us wherever we went (though there was one […]

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What must my children’s friends think of me?!

August 12, 2011August 12, 2011 BritMumInNZ 9 Comments Random Musings, Sarah

Take a moment to think back to your childhood… Did some of your friend’s parents stick firmly in your mind for being a little unusual? Or maybe boring? Or control freaks? Or perhaps they were wanna be comedians and thought they were ‘cool’ just like you? Perhaps they were too serious, or scary? Drunk or […]

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Things we love: Egyptian Toilet Roll Mummies

February 26, 2011 BritMumInNZ 9 Comments Life in action - Videos, Loving & Not Loving

What better way to start a Saturday morning… Than with two children standing quiet and still for a few minutes… I did say a ‘few minutes’… didn’t take long for our Egyptian Mummies to break free… And we were resourceful with the toilet paper: – One roll is in a bag by my side to […]

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Surrendering to play this Labour Weekend

October 24, 2010 BritMumInNZ 18 Comments Holidays

Yes we have chores to do and some of them are getting accomplished, but on the whole we have been making the most of this long weekend to spend some good quality time together as a family. Dan and I are feeling shattered and sometimes the unstoppable energy of our children is simply exhausting to […]

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Cuddly toy take-over!

October 20, 2010 BritMumInNZ 6 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Dan, Random Musings, Sophie

After the Kindi Fair on Saturday the girls were inspired to set up their own cuddly toy raffle. They numbered over 60 toys with paper, pen and sello-tape! Then they duplicated the numbers and put them in a bowl. This was a great learning exercise for Sophie in reading bigger numbers. Dan was roped in […]

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Wordless Wednesday

October 13, 2010October 13, 2010 BritMumInNZ 13 Comments Alice

When you are this small and dinner ended up pasted all over, from head to toe, why not have a bath in the sink?! And two big girls wish they could shrink for a moment and join their baby sister… ______________________________________________________________ For more ‘Wordless Wednesday’ photos click here.

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The Happy Den

October 9, 2010 BritMumInNZ 12 Comments Garden, School hols

Where we live is surrounded by trees and close to the sea. The garden is what really attracted us to the property. It’s not easy to find a flat section in the hilly topography of Wellington. And to find somewhere set back from the road with a safe driveway for the children to ride their […]

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  • Christmas and a Birthday in Wellington January 12, 2023
  • Summer highlights from the Wairarapa January 8, 2023
  • A long weekend with friends near Goat Island Marine Reserve January 6, 2023
  • It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas – southern hemisphere style! December 23, 2022
  • Wellington Lantern Festival – in the spring rain December 18, 2022
  • Toast Martinborough – Wine and Food Festival December 16, 2022
  • Spring running highlights on Wellington’s trails December 14, 2022
  • Trail goodness in the southern Remutaka Ranges October 25, 2022
  • Family, hills & roller-coasters! October 22, 2022
  • Summer visit to London in July; seeing friends, West End Shows, National Art Gallery, Women’s Euro 2022 & corgis! October 14, 2022
  • North-east Cornwall holiday snapshots (part 2) September 3, 2022
  • Summer holiday in North-East Cornwall (part 1) August 30, 2022

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